Reports: Brazil to name Dunga as coach

Former Brazil player Dunga is reportedly going to be named today as national team coach. --

Former Brazil player Dunga is reportedly going to be named today as national team coach.

The announcement to be made today

Former World Cup winning captain Dunga is reportedly going to be named today to coach Brazil’s national soccer team, according to Brazilian newspapers.

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil is set to name its new national team coach, with reports suggesting Carlos Dunga is likely to return to the post.

Brazil will announce a coach today to succeed Luiz Felipe Scolari, who resigned after Brazil failed to win the World Cup — eliminated in a humiliating 7-1 loss to Germany in the semifinals.

Reports say Dunga will get the job, although the Brazilian football confederation has declined to confirm the appointment.

Dunga was the captain of Brazil’s 1994 World Cup-winning team, and coached the national team in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He was dismissed after Brazil lost 2-1 in the quarterfinals to the Netherlands.

The Rio de Janeiro daily O Globo put Dunga’s face across the first page of its sports section yesterday, under the headline: “New Era: The Return of Dunga.”

“In a moment when the national team seeks a lost identity, the national federation rescues a symbol of soccer and results,” the paper wrote.

The Sao Paulo newspaper O Estado De S.Paulo put a brief story on the return on Dunga on its front page, and inside ran the headline: “CBF Is Going To Confirm Dunga Tomorrow (today).”

The return of Dunga seems to be linked to the naming of Gilmar Rinaldi as the new technical director, replacing Carlos Alberto Parreira.

Rinaldi was a goalkeeper in the ’94 team, and Globo said he and Dunga had reached a quick agreement for the former coach and captain to return. The second choice for coach seems to be Tite — Adenor Leonardo Bacchi — the coach of Brazilian club side Corinthians. He was an early favourite, but slipped after Rinaldi was named.

Dunga, whose real name is Carlos Bledorn Verri, was in charge of 60 matches as national team coach. Brazil won 42, drew 12 and lost six.